5-points

Had a recent trip to NYC to visit my buddy Steff, who took me to some cool places. One of which was 5-Pointz, “the” place for serious graff. We got there the day after they wrapped filming for a Morgan Freeman flick, some action thriller due out Jan 2013. Met one of the volunteers, ZROK, who made a mural with Auks and Zimad using leftover cans from the other artists, recycling if you will (see Angry Birds pix). He gave me the lowdown and quick a tour of the complex. The entire space is covered with amazing burns, by artists from around the world. There is a cool bar/pub on the NE corner of the complex, The Shannon Pot, which has some killer deals, like a bucket of 10 iced PBR for $20. The Space Womb Gallery is next door.

No sense in reinventing the wheel, so here’s more background from Wiki:

5 Pointz: The Institute of Higher Burnin‘ or the 5Pointz Aerosol Art Center, Inc. is an outdoor art exhibit space in Long Island City, New York, considered to be the world’s premiere “graffiti Mecca,” where aerosol artists from around the globe paint colorful pieces on the walls of a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) factory building. The complex owned by Long Island developer Jerry Wolkoff houses the Crane Street Studios in which 200 artists pay below market rents for studio space. In 2009 a 450-square-foot (42 m2) studio was listed as renting for $600/month.

It was announced in March 2011 that Wolkoff plans to redevelop the property to build high-rise residential towers, putting the future of 5 Pointz in jeopardy.

History: The complex was first established as the Phun Phactory in 1993 by Pat DiLillo under a program called Graffiti Terminators to discourage graffiti vandalism by encouraging artists to display their work in a formal showcase.

In 2002 Jonathan Cohen, a graffiti artist operating under the name “Meres” began curating the work. If he is not familiar with an artist, Cohen will ask for a sample of their work; if it is a mural, he will ask for a layout as well. The name 5Pointz signifies the five boroughs coming together as one but, because of its reputation as an epicenter of the graffiti scene, the industrial complex has actually united aerosol artists from across the world. Legendary writers from Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, and all over the United States have painted on the building walls, including Stay High 149, Tracy 168, Cope2, Part, and Tats Cru.

Over the past decade, the striking, graffiti-covered warehouse has attracted several hip-hop and R&B stars, including Doug E. Fresh, Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Kaz, Mobb Deep, Rahzel, DJ JS-1, Boot Camp Clik, Joan Jett, and Joss Stone. One of the first graffiti there was a portrait of Jam-Master Jay, an important member of the early hip hop musical style.

Source: Description above from the Wikipedia article 5 Pointz, licensed under CC-BY-SA full list of contributors here. Community Pages are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, anyone associated with the topic.